Wade Simmons has been in the freeride game since the beginning. He's left his mark on our sport through an extensive catalogue of images and video segments, showcasing his creative ability to conquer any line with unmistakable style. Simply put, Wade’s career has been driven by his desire to do something different. While watching the old footage of himself riding in The Moment, he couldn’t help but get nostalgic on the bikes that helped make his career.

Bikes like the Pipeline, Switch, RMX, RM7, and RM9 were the tools of Wade’s trade. To him, these were the bikes that had soul. The “Thrust Link”, “NE 3”, and “3D Link” were some of the iconic technologies that helped make these bikes special. This was at a time where adding linkage plates to everything was the obvious solution.

Wade is what we call an “ideas man.” Fueled by Wade’s creativity, Rocky Mountain Bicycles decided to build a very special bike, founded on nostalgia and designed to modern day standards. Tapping into some of his old favourite lines, this is a story of Wade Simmons’ Pipedream.

Gussets and linkage plates were an iconic look of the early 2000's. Riders like Wade were beginning to push mountain biking in a new direction, and the frame designs were changing to meet their demands. From 49mm straight head tubes to adding extra gussets for flair, the Pipedream embodies the renegade spirit of freeride.

Many of the early Rocky Mountain freeride bikes had a feature that allowed you to mount the rear shock in 3 different locations. This was known as "NE 3", and required 2 linkage plates on either side of the shock with a cross-brace to stiffen everything torsionally. While having a bit of fun with cross-bracing designs, the NE 3 Man was born.

The 3D Link was a CNC'd feature on our full suspension bikes of the late 90's and early 2000's. Platforms like the Element, Edge, and Slayer all had versions of the 3D Link, which made it a natural addition to Wade's Pipedream.

The Rocky Mountain Bicycles Development Centre is located at the foot of Vancouver's North Shore mountains and is home base for all of our product development. It's here that we weld our prototype frames, test new ideas, and fine tune the details. Longtime Rocky Mountain Bicycles welder, Al Kowalchuk worked on this custom project, delivering an incredible finished product.

The Godfather of Freeride, Wade Simmons.

Rocky Mountain is proud to have been involved with the feature film, The Moment. We would also like to say a huge Thank You to Wade Simmons for his continued inspiration and dedication to freeride mountain biking.

I can't even begin to explain how disappointed I was when the new pipeline came out and had nothing in common with the old school version... This replaces a great deal of that lost love, great job Rocky Mountain!

I remember being an 18 year old hucker on a Nicolai built mongoose amplifier 2 DH with judy DHs back in 97. we were doing stupid things in the woods in Bromont and didnt care about racing. Then the Freeriders (soon to be Froriders) were everywhere in magazines. Finally somebody understood real mountain biking! Thanks Tippie and Wade for showing the world that mountain biking was not about racing! I still own my pipeline, rm7 and switch.

I don't know if nostalgia, but it feels like back in the day bike brands had more personality. Like those gussets by Rocky or Cannondale's welding and GT triple triangle.
Today it's all carbon, smooth it out, and lots of similar looking bikes.
BTW, sick video!!

This happens in many products as they develop, people trying things out, different ideas, "personality", (note that this personality you talk of is mostly an attribute of the frame, not of the bike) as it becomes more clear what works best in which situation, superior ideas or sellable ideas (which are just ideas that are superior, allbeit at selling) take over, and variations on tried, tested, accepted, and indemand products become relatively less obvious.

Never understood this obsession with "distinct" or "personality" or "backstory" that stuff is mostly bullshit anyway, even if theres truth in it at the core somewhere.

But you might be in for a treat if linkage forks get taken up like they should be for their superior performance (but won't be for many many years) that would result in a great deal of personality again... then again they're not that likely to be taken up partly because they have too much personality and only a tiny minority actually have any interest in personality, most are just nostalgic for throwbacks.

and now i feel stupid, just read the fine print and it says bike is not available for purchase... my hopes and dreams are crushed, u guys should have saved that for april fools not ruin a mans dreams right before xmas . wade any chance you wanna sell me yours?

Perhaps we can elicit a production run from @RockyMountainBicycles#bringthepipedreamtoproduction how many deposits would you need to spur a production run? #letsmakegreataluminumbicyclesagain #linkageplates

@nuttypoolog: Perhaps we can elicit a production run from @RockyMountainBicycles#bringthepipedreamtoproduction how many deposits would you need to spur a production run? #letsmakegreataluminumbicyclesagain #linkageplates

@NWuntilirest: Perhaps we can elicit a production run from @RockyMountainBicycles#bringthepipedreamtoproduction how many deposits would you need to spur a production run? #letsmakegreataluminumbicyclesagain #linkageplates

@kstrongin3: Perhaps we can elicit a production run from @RockyMountainBicycles#bringthepipedreamtoproduction how many deposits would you need to spur a production run? #letsmakegreataluminumbicyclesagain #linkageplates

This looks like a perfect Kickstarter campaign @RockyMountainBicycles . Make a tapered headtube, threaded BB version and have folks pre-pay, production commences once xx # are bought. Pretty sure you could fill a container. No warranty, no returns. Have a premium option that Wade and Digger sign. Whaddya think?

I still own my purple 99 pipeline, an RM7,and a switch. They are a turning point in mountain biking when we realized bikes could do big things at high speeds instead of burning rims with v brakes on hardtails.

It appears that Wade may have developed some actual acting skills and/or comedic timing. Very well done. As an added note, I still have my '99 Pipeline and I would totally consider purchasing a "Pipedream" if Rocky Mountain were to consider a production run. ....as long as they change the "baby shit yellow" to black (like I've done on my old one).

i own quiet a few of those Frames and love them. However, with the upcoming of "Standards of the week" and the uniform look, i stopped wanting to buy any new frames. I think my last model year was 2013.. This frame i would buy at once, no questions asked, wonder why;-) By the way, my workhorse is a candy red Pipeline....

I remember those lines. Particularly the BC Place stairs. Rolled up one day to check it out shortly after the original vid launched. Nearly crapped my pants at how big it was in person. Wade made it look so easy.

OMFG!!! I'm all in... i still ride 26" wheels for all my bikes, and am sad that this is only 27.5 but I dont even care. This is my next bike... I had to even go to rock mountain to make sure they were actually going to make this not just one for wade. I havwent been this stoked to buy a bike in ages!!!

@icedcoffee: Perhaps we can elicit a production run from @RockyMountainBicycles#bringthepipedreamtoproduction how many deposits would you need to spur a production run? #letsmakegreataluminumbicyclesagain #linkageplates

I feel ya, I do like the carbon, but it just doesn't have the same appeal and I think pushing forward with being environmentally friendly, a traditional alloy construction should be an option for consumers. I hope things eventually sway back to when there was the alloy options.

@BoneDog: quite a mission finding a brand that has a good alloy option. Most use aluminium as the low end version of a model. Hopefully this will change with the amount of people knowing the negatives of carbon

Awesome edit, I loved watching Wade in the Kranked series growning up in the 90's. For those of us that rode back then, you can remember the struggle of just trying to ride without feeling judged as mainstream MTB was very resistant to Freeride/dirt jumping back then so you were on your own more or less. There was no Rampage, Slopestyle or CrankWorks to give riders the vast media platform and exposure they have today, back then you did it because it was your passion and you hoped companies would continue to make bikes to help progress the movement and not slink back into only making traditional DH or XC trail bikes.

@frampo: long time ago though. miss it to bits, pedalled so well too, just mine was way too short. Its a small world really. Your's looks almost original build do. would kill to get one of those again or the RMX.

@riktherider: yeah i got mine ex demo back in 2003/2004, just switched out the bars, gears and put a MRP on. unfortunately i only have the frame and shock now, i put the parts on a hardtail for a little while and it got stolen! mine was an 18" which seemed to fit me at the time. My RM7 got me hooked on Rockys and i have only owned them since! currently have a Maiden and Slayer. Im pretty sure im a lifer with Rocky now.

dude. what a dick tease having it on their website like an actual bike. i cant tell you how obsessed i was with rocky bikes and wade simmons when i was in elementary school. ESPECIALLY the RM7 he was holding up with lime green flames. ah those were the days. they should add a replica old school colorway to each model they make, font and all. too good

I loved it. But seriously, no URT? He did a bunch of his iconic moves on the old Pipeline, which also had a lot of weird plates. If anything this new bike is most like his old DH Race with a Pipeline paint job. I'd like to see him hit one of those truck trailer drops at the PNE with a URT again.

Am I the only one who finds it annoying when they slap the videos in there at a full screen size? Despite having 1080p monitor it still cuts off a bit and i have to re-open the original video for a more enjoyable viewing experience

Perhaps we can elicit a production run from @RockyMountainBicycles#bringthepipedreamtoproduction how many deposits would you need to spur a production run? #letsmakegreataluminumbicyclesagain #linkageplates